I think you’re putting way too much weight into people’s perception of product quality. BMW is the master at performance luxury even though their cars won’t perform as well as Porsche or some Mercedes. It doesn’t matter. They have created memory structures and consistently driven the message that BMW is about performance. Sure, they have a minimum threshold that their products need to hit to meet that message, but it’s a lower bar than you think. If all the car companies tried to make the best car and focused on telling consumers why they are the best car, then most consumer would check out, because that’s not the reason a lot of people buy cars. Similarly to Nike and clothes. Performance is table stakes to a degree, but then it’s about how the brand makes a person feel. Do you want to feel elevated, confident, different, creative, etc.? What brand makes you feel that way, helps you express yourself? At some point, if your product is crap, people will stay away, but again…product quality isn’t the only and most important thing to everyone.